ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
McBride, Amber Nicole

Me (Moth)

256 pp. | Feiwel | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-250-78036-2 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-250-78037-9 $10.99
(2) YA In McBride's lyrical debut novel in verse, protagonist Moth has been trying to "shrink" herself ("I lived too much. I took up too much space") ever since the car crash that killed her parents and brother. She lives a "secondhand life" with her aunt; she has given up her beloved ballet; and, as one of "only six Black kids--who don't talk to me" at her school, she is ignored by her peers until Sani, who is part Navajo and lives with his white mother and stepfather, shows up in her class. After Sani experiences physical abuse at his stepfather's hands, he and Moth leave on a road trip to Navajo Nation in New Mexico, where Sani's father lives. This novel beautifully handles themes of death, grief, first love, and abuse. McBride weaves Hoodoo tradition, Navajo creation tales, and facts about moths into an engaging story about two teens trying to heal themselves and move past their traumas. The free-verse poems create a vivid picture of Moth and Sani's journey, with a revelation near the end of the story that will have teens rereading to look for clues.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?